Stranger in A Brave New World
by Tamest
Summary: Kara St.James never believed in magic and if she did she wouldn't want anything to do with it.Unfortunately, she doesn't have a choice after she helps a strange boy at Kings Cross Station. Trapped in the most magical place of them all, can she make it?


**Okay everybody here is my first attempt at fanfiction. The rest of the story is in my head and I will try to update about once a week (at the expense of my homework if need be).**

**Please Review and let me know you're out there (be gentle).**

**-Love Tamest**

Business is a combination of war and sport.

-**Andre Maurois**

Avada Kedavra! And just like that, you're dead. It's quite simple really, two simple words and there goes your life. I could do it right now, just pull out my wand and then you're dead. You wouldn't even see it coming. Fortunately for you, I am not a homicidal maniac; and if that doesn't reassure you enough, you can have confidence in the fact that I don't have a single drop of magic in my entire body. Not a single drop. So why am I threatening you with a spell I obviously can't perform? To give you a taste of the threatening life I have been living since I was seventeen and accidentally spent a year living in Hogwarts.

Like many things that have gone wrong in my life, the fault for me spending a year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry can ultimately be traced back to my father. Even after all the years that have passed since I was at Hogwarts, I still can't find it in me to forgive my father for being the cause of me being violently thrust into the magical world and the numerous heartbreaks I have endured as a result. The beginning of my story can be traced back to June 22, 1977 a lazy summer day in San Diego, California (yes, that's right. I'm a proud citizen of the United States of America). It is a day I will always remember as the one time in my life that I let go of all rational thought and truly lost my temper.

The day began quite normally as I woke up promptly at 7:00 AM in our huge house just outside of beautiful, sunny San Diego. The dark blue walls of my room and tasteful, dark stained furniture that made up my large room served as a nice contrast to my platinum blonde hair (natural platinum blonde hair, thank you very much) and crisp white bedspread. After getting dressed in my favorite mini dress the exact icy shade of blue as my eyes, pulling on comfortable black boots with a slight heel, brushing my long hair, and applying minimal makeup I was ready to face the world, or more accurately, my stepmom. Walking down the impressive set of stairs that were the focus of the entry hall I made my way down to the kitchen where my stepmom was already up and nursing a cup of coffee.

I wish I could say that Veronica St. James (formerly Murphy) was a cruel and evil woman but, in truth my stepmother was a generally pleasant and agreeable person. She loved my father in the comfortable, middle aged way which would come to represent the antithesis of what my future relationships would resemble (for better or for worse). The problems I had with her stemmed from her (partially true) assumption that I was a spoiled little girl who was starved for attention. It was true that my father accomplished the rather remarkable feat providing me with everything money could buy and still maintaining a cool sense of detachment from all aspects of my life. However, I always resented the fact that her idea of rectifying this situation involved cutting me off from the sense of freedom I was accustomed to before she had wed my father when I was 14. I resented this not because it prevented me from doing the things I wanted to do but, because of the fact that it was entirely unnecessary; I was never a wild child and was content to, within reason, follow all the rules laid out for me both at home and at school. I despised that she had to know where I was going, how I was getting there, what I was doing and, who I was going with; I simply wanted to be trusted to make my own decisions and to act like the adult I always behaved as.

After poring myself a cup of coffee and helping myself to some cereal I was surprised when Veronica turned to me and said, "Your father wants to speak to you in his office today at 2:00 o'clock." She said this with the pursed lipped expression she usually used when my father was doing something she disapproved of.

Irritated, I took a large sip of coffee before responding "I can't. I have class today." I was taking an Advanced Calculus class at the college trying to get ahead in math. I was already ahead in basically everything else but, math was my weakness and I wanted to apply my undivided attention to it in order to get an A.

She sighed and pursed her lips even further before relying "Skip it. You need to be there".

Wondering what could be so important that she wanted me to skip a class that could be the difference between Berkley and Harvard, I scowled and said "Alright but, I'll need to find a way to make up the material I'll be missing." Nodding, Veronica walked away undoubtedly to go clean something which she always did whenever she was stressed about something.

Still scowling I walked back up to my room where I planned to spend the remaining six hours before 2:00 o'clock doing something productive. After reviewing my math notes, reorganizing my book shelf (okay so maybe Veronica isn't the only one who cleans things when she's stressed or bored in my case), calling Jennifer Lawson from my math class for a copy of her notes, and painting my toenails, I looked at the clock and saw that it was 1:00 o'clock and I should be on my way to my dad's office.

Walking past Veronica's Chevrolet Corvette, I opened the door of my own dark blue Cadillac De Ville convertible. A sixteenth birthday present, that car was my baby and I figured the straight A's, intense course load, and multiple Ivy League schools I was applying to made up for the amount of money my father spent on the car. Turning the keys I admired the sweet _vroom _sound it made every time I turned it on and pulled out of the drive way. Driving to my father's office typically took a little over an hour but, with the way I drove I would make it their in plenty of time. Driving fast was the one indulgence in reckless behavior I typically allowed myself and I had never once gotten in an accident or been pulled over.

Pulling into the parking lot of my father's office at 1:56, I walked up the stairs and sat myself in the waiting room while the secretary informed my father I was here. My father inherited the weapons development company from his father who started the company from scratch during the First World War. After making various ahead of his time weapons for other people for the first 27 years of his life my grandfather started his own company in 1917 with the outbreak of World War I. The jump in demand for new advanced weapons made his company an instant success and with the help of my grandmother, my grandfather ran the company for 34 years until he passed it down to my father in 1951. As the only one of my grandparent's sons to survive the Second World War (they had 3 sons) my father had been running the company for 9 years until I was born in 1960 (he was forty at he time) and as my father's only real child (my stepmother had a son prior to marrying my father) I fully expected to inherit the company when my father was ready to retire.

My father's secretary, a fat old woman my stepmom insisted replace my father's previous secretary who had a penchant for short skirts and low-cut tops, called me in after ten minutes of waiting in my father's freezing waiting room. Irked at having to wait when my father was the one who interrupted my day to call this meeting I walked briskly into his office surprised to see both my father's attorney and my stepbrother, Aaron, sitting in the cushy, leather chairs in front of my father's desk. They stood up as I entered the room and I went to kiss both my father's and stepbrother's cheeks before sitting down in the last remaining chair between Aaron and the attorney.

After several seconds of awkward silence I decided to get the ball rolling by asking "Alright Dad, I'm here. Now, what was so important that I had to miss class for this?" My father scowled at my rude tone voice but, I didn't flinch and stared unapologetically back; at 6'4, with broad shoulders, and a keen gaze my father was an intimidating man but, I wasn't scared of him. Finally looking away, my father nervously looked between me and Aaron and bit his lip. If I hadn't been so busy trying to figure out what was going on, I would have been amused with the fact that I made my normally quite fearless father nervous. Questioningly I looked at Aaron only to see from the confused look on his face that he was just as confused as I was.

Seeing that my father wasn't about to respond, the attorney jumped in with "Ms. St. James, your father called you in today to discuss the future of the company."

He then looked significantly at my father who, nervously cleared his throat before starting "Karoline", sensing the seriousness of the situation I didn't even interrupt him to tell him to call me Kara, "I'm afraid you're not going to like what I have to say." Tensing, I nodded my head and he began again "But, I think it is for the best that when I retire, Aaron becomes head of the company instead of you. I think that he is better suited to running a business and I'm sure you will be perfectly happy being a nice man's wife…"

With that my head snapped up and I glared murderously at the man I used to call my father. "You're disinheriting me so I can be somebody's wife! You think that's what I want! Just because I'm a girl, you think all I want to be in life is some idiot's wife! You sexist bastard!"

My father stood up with that comment and said "Look here Karoline, I know you're upset but, you don't get to speak to me like that!"

"I don't give a shit!" At this point I was beyond angry. The reason I worked so hard in school to be the best was so I could one day run the company and be as successful and my father and grandfather before him. What truly made me angry was, my father knew this and he still deluded himself with thinking I would be content to be a society wife like my mother and stepmom. "You think that I worked this hard so I could be some sort of society wife! You are seriously deluded!"

At this point, Aaron looking terrified for his life interrupted me to diplomatically interject "Kara, he's not saying you have to be a house wife. You can be what ever you want." My father looked at Aaron with relief and nodded vigorously in agreement.

Furious at being interrupted I turned to Aaron and roared "Shut up Aaron and grow a pair!" I wasn't truly angry at Aaron. I was sure he had nothing to do with planning this. I didn't even think he particularly wanted to be head of a weapon's company. He was just too eager to please my father to object to the new turn of events. It just made me all the more angry that my father would pass the family company on to him instead of me.

Turning back to my father I yelled "you have no idea what you have just done! It's no wonder Mom left! She probably got fed up with your idea that you know what's best for everyone else. Newsflash! You're not God!"

At the mention of my mother, father's face grew white. I'll admit, it was a low blow but, I was past caring at this point. My mother just disappeared one night when I was 2, leaving only a note saying she "couldn't do this anymore". Aside from the checks she sends me every year at Christmas and my birthday, we haven't heard from her since.

Continuing on in my rant, I spat out "I would have been a great head of company! You are making the biggest mistake of you life!" On that final note, I spun on my heel and strode out of the office slamming the door behind me.

Blind with anger, I made my way out of the office until I reached my car. Realizing I probably shouldn't be driving in my state, I took a calming breath before revving the engine and speeding out of the parking lot. I drove faster than ever and made it home in record time. After slamming shut the front door of the house, Veronica appeared in the doorway between the entry hall and the front office. Holding a glass of wine she did nothing but, stare at me as I stomped up the stairs into the entertainment room.

Fondly referred to as "Kara's Cave", the entertainment room was my second sanctuary after my room. It contained my favorite couch, a well stocked fridge, a humongous fire place, a TV, and my piano. It was also connected to a bathroom meaning that I could stay in that room for days without having to leave. Making my way directly to the piano I sat on the bench and proceeded to pound out all my favorites that I had memorized by heart.

Playing the piano helped me get my anger out as well as give me time to plan out what I wanted to do now. As my hands pounded automatically over the keys, I came to the conclusion that I would not be able to endure another year at my snobby boarding school in Virginia knowing that I wasn't going to ever reach my goal. During the several hours of playing I put in before finally resting my sore fingers I came up with several plans of what I could do in the next year before I could escape to college (preferably far away from there). I finally came up with a plan that would get me out of spending another year at my snobby school, was workable, and suitably rebellious enough to match my current mood. The question was; would I have the guts to do it?

As it turned out, I did. I went to the bank to check on my account the following day. To my pleasant surprise, the guilt money my absent mother had sent me over the years as well as the money my grandparents left me amounted to a tidy sum of just over 25,000 dollars (my mom must have been feeling pretty guilty). I used this money to purchase plane tickets to Ireland for August 24 (because my school couldn't just start on September 1 like everyone else). I figured if I didn't go for the most luxurious hotels and was willing to rough it a little, I would have enough money to last me a school year travelling abroad and still have left over for just in case situations.

Over the next month and a half, I loaded up on extra classes at the local college. Taking four college level classes at once wasn't easy or cheap but, my guilty father was more than willing to pay the enrollment fee and I needed those extra classes to ensure that I could be confident in getting into the types of schools I was applying for. In the end, the extra effort and late nights proved to be worth it because I not only filled but, exceeded my school's required classes rendering my senior year unnecessary.

With that taken care of I then had to focus on the smaller details of how to make my scheme a success. First I had to complete the procedure of withdrawing from by boarding school in Virginia. It involved pretending to be my father's secretary, filling out lots of forms, and faking my father's signature (something I'd been doing since I was 10). I also had to call all my friends informing them I would not be attending school next year. I choose to tell them all a variation on the truth that I was planning to travel around the world; I just forgot to mention that I was going all by myself without my family's knowledge. Unfortunately, for all my brilliant planning I knew that something was bound to go wrong and when that happened I needed someone on the inside to field away questions and take care of details that I couldn't while I was away.

It was quite easy to convince Aaron to help me carry out my plan. All I had to offer was my forgiveness. Unlike me, Aaron would be attending local high school as a junior due to the fact that Veronica wasn't willing to send him all the way to the other side of the country just to ensure he had the best education money could buy. As such, he would be available at home to smooth over any glitches that were bound to occur. He would also store my car in his friend's garage until I picked it up when I got back. Though reluctant to help me at first Aaron was quickly convinced when I told him that if he helped me I would never hold him being named heir to the company against him. I wouldn't have done that anyways but, he didn't need to know that.

Finally on the 23rd of August I boarded my 6:00 AM flight that instead of taking me to Virginia would bring me to Dublin, Ireland. I woke up at 4:00 AM and quickly got dressed before padding over to Aaron's room to wake him up so he could drive with me to the airport. Packing relatively light with one large suitcase and a duffle bag (I was going to be gone for a year and would be abroad in all sorts of weather!) we made our way out of the house. I had already said my terse goodbyes the night before and saw no reason to wake up my father to say goodbye again. Driving slower than usual I got to San Diego airport at about 5:15 and took a moment to say goodbye to Aaron.

"Be good, okay?" I asked him at the departure gate.

Blinking blurrily, he responded "Yeah, sure. This is coming from the girl running away from home for a year."

Laughing, I replied "Hey, I'm being smart about it. Remember I'll send you progress reports that you have to give to your mom. And I'll be mailing out my college applications as I go so, I'll mail you so you can send me all my acceptance letters."

Calling over his shoulder as he walked away he yelled "Yeah right! Like you'll be accepted into any colleges."

Still laughing I called out to his retreating form "You just send them, okay? And if I find one scratch on that car when I get back, I'll have your testicles for earrings! You hear me! Small, dangly earrings!"

On that happy note, I promptly boarded my plane right on time and was happily reclining in my seat as the plane took off into the air. My last thought before I drifted off into sleep was this year is going to be magical. When I had stopped freaking out about the situation I would later find myself in, I would appreciate the irony of that statement.


End file.
